


Fishy Business

by FairySoul



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: 3e never happened, Alternate Universe, College AU, Fluff, KARUNAGI, Kind of cliche, M/M, karmagisa - Freeform, karmagisa fluff, karmagisa mermaid au, mermaid au, merman au, merman nagisa, minor kayanokuda mention, minor maeiso mention, short fic, surfer karma, this might not be very good
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:41:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25720732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairySoul/pseuds/FairySoul
Summary: Nagisa would describe himself as an average college student, had it not been for a certain curse. On a full moon, he transforms into a water-breathing merman, and he’s taken a miserable summer job to try and hide it. He was doing alright leading this double-life until a certain devilish surfer decided to meddle with his plans, his life, and his heart.
Relationships: Akabane Karma/Shiota Nagisa
Comments: 16
Kudos: 68





	1. A Calm Beach

The ocean. 

I recall the soft sounds of the waves, crashing against the shore, a calm beach. 

Nagisa. 

The meaning of my name is a calm beach. 

The ocean was warm that day, despite it being cloudy. The beach wasn’t busy, I could turn around and immediately spot my dad, waving at me from the shore. I could feel the salt in my hair as I walked further into the ocean, a piece of seaweed tickled at my feet. 

I had just turned 18, and my dad decided to take me to this small town on the beach, the vacation home of an old friend, a surfer’s paradise. Now legally an adult, he was helping me with the preparations to move out of my mother’s house and into my own, so I could sever ties with her before she could engage. 

“Nagisa! Don’t go out too far okay!!”

“Okay!”

I called back to my dad, and decided to float at the spot where I was standing. My face was barely peering out of the water, and I was looking up towards the cloudy sky. I could hear the seagulls above me, the sound of a jet ski in the distance. 

A calm beach. 

I felt water splash over my face, I shut my eyes tight as I felt myself go underwater. 

I couldn’t move. 

I was squirming and kicking my legs, I felt the water get colder and colder, I was being pulled down under, I felt arms around my shoulders, pulling me down. I felt my ears pop, I tried opening my eyes, but I could barely see a thing. The surface was so far above me, the calm beach was getting further and further away.

I was almost unconscious when I felt myself being pushed onto a hard surface. I was coughing and gasping for air, there was salt in my eyes and water in my nose. 

I could hear voices over my own coughing, three of them. They sounded panicked, they were arguing. 

“You fool! That’s not one of our own! That’s a landwalker!!”

“But look at that one’s hair, I thought he was one of our own!!”

“Did you not notice his legs??”

“I panicked!! We’ve been losing so many of our own lately, I thought he needed help!”

“Well, your empathetic skills have compromised our entire clan!!”

My vision became much clearer, I scanned my surroundings. I was in an underwater cave of sorts, illuminated by strange orbs that decorated the rocks. There were all sorts of gems and pieces of jewelry all around, along with other shiny things. I looked over at the three heads that were peering out of the water, seemingly human, all with long flowing hair. It didn’t take me long to notice what was off about them, instead of ears they had glowing colored fins on the side of their head, some had jewels hanging from them. Their cheeks had stripes on them, three on each side. Are those… gills?

“Are you guys… mermaids?”

I felt like an idiot as I spoke those words, a concept from old Disney movies and children’s stories was seemingly looking right at me. They all stopped dead in their tracks, looking over at me, silently. 

“It’s awake!”

The small one on the left squealed, diving underwater. 

“That’s merman to you.”

The one on the right sneered, prompting the one in the middle to whack the back of his head. 

“You’re the one who brought him here and now you’re being rude. Unbelievable.”

“What’s it matter... He’s going to doom us all anyways… the second he returns to all his landwalker friends they’ll be hunting us in droves.” 

The one smaller one said, re-emerging from the water. 

“So why don’t we just leave him here? Can’t tell anyone if he’s dead.”

The one that had taken me away scowled. I felt a wave of panic hit me. Sure I can swim, but there’s no way I have the capabilities to make it back to the surface, considering how deep it was. 

“I won’t tell anyone, I swear! Please, please let me go back to the surface… my life is about to begin, I-I can’t just let it end here!”

My breath was still hitching, I felt so sick. I was finally escaping from my mother’s grasp, only to be left to die in a cave. I couldn’t let that happen. 

“Calm down, we aren’t going to let you die. We’ll return you to the surface.”

The tallest one in the middle spoke, prompting the other two to look over at her in disbelief, only for her to glare back at them. I felt a wave of relief wash over me, but I spoke too soon. 

“However, we will need a sort of guarantee that you will keep our secret. A curse of sorts. If you were to rat us out, you would go down with us.”

“A c-curse? What kind of curse?”

I could feel the panic spread throughout my entire body, as if I didn’t already feel sick enough before. 

“A curse that makes you an honorary one of us. Under a full moon, you will look just like us, and you will need to fill your gills with salt water, the same way we do.”

I was having an exceptionally rough time processing this, but she didn’t slow down for me one bit. 

“If you wish to break the curse of the full moon, you must find one of the sacred jewels in these waters, and give it to someone special. Only then will you be free of the full moon.”

My brain was running at a hundred miles a minute, I was so confused. 

She gently smiled at me, and extended her hand from the water. She had faint, shimmering scales, and her fingers were connected like that of a frog. Even her fingernails were glowing. 

“Come now, you’ve been here for far too long. Let’s get you back to the land.”

I slowly took her hand, and let her pull me into the water, where I could clearly see their shimmering tails in the water. 

“How will I know if it’s the sacred jewel? How will I know who the special person is?”

I asked, stepping deeper and deeper into the water. Using her free hand, she gently pushed it up against my heart, which had been beating as loud as ever from the situation. Her eyes glowed back at me, and a strange light started to shine around me. 

This was it. 

I was being cursed. 

The light faded, one singular scale was shimmering on my chest, over my heart. Gently flicking her nail against it, it came right off. It was the shape of a small heart, and she took the opportunity my open mouth had given her to place it inside. 

“Now, swallow it.”

Her voice was stern and serious, and the two long-haired mermen beside her shivered. It surprised me so badly that I ended up swallowing the scale. It tasted salty and rotten, it felt slimy in my mouth. She continued speaking. 

“As for your question, you’ll know when you see it. If you’re still lost now, it means you haven’t found that person yet.”

I still had more questions, I was still confused, but I was pulled underwater by her. All I saw were the glowing scales of her and her subordinates, their fins and shining eyes, when suddenly it started to fade to black. 

I could hear the calm beach again, the waves crashing on the shore, the seagulls above. 

“Nagisa”

Was that my dad calling for me?

“Nagisa!”

That doesn’t sound like him...

“Nagisa!!”

Isogai yelled at his coworker, prompting Nagisa to shoot up from his spot, bumping his head on the glass display of their smoothie bar for the fifth time this summer. It’s been 3 days. 

“Ugh, Fuck!” 

He exclaimed, prompting Kayano to poke her head out from her spot in the back where she was cutting fruit. 

“Swear!!”

Nagisa groaned again, tossing some change from his pocket into the jar in the corner, fixing his corny mandatory sun visor so it wasn’t in his face. 

“I understand that business isn’t quite booming yet, and that it’s really hot in here unless you’re near the display, but if you get caught snoozing on the job that’s going to reflect on me, too.” Isogai scolded. 

Nagisa nodded slowly, rubbing his sore forehead, thinking back to the dream he had. 

It’s been 2 years since then. 

Still no jewel, still no special someone. 

As much as he wanted to believe that that day with the mermaids was just a dream, it took him one full moon to realize that he was part merman. Every summer since then, he comes back to the same beach again to look for it. Moving out of his mother’s house had become his saving grace, since he has to spend every full moon during the offseason in his bathtub. The workers at his local supermarket have begun to speculate about him being an exorcist. 

When he came back last summer, he started working at a small smoothie shack on the beach as a summer job. His dad’s friend lets him stay in his summer home, the situation couldn’t be more convenient, considering the circumstances.

The only issue is the growing popularity of the beach, last year a major surfing contest took place there, riddling the town with tourists and athletes. It was such a large success that it was going to become an annual contest, and Nagisa was dreading it. The ocean is mostly calm during the night, or at least, calmer than it is in the daytime. People will be out on the pier until late at night, and Nagisa has run into skinny dippers once or twice, to his horror. 

However, Nagisa can’t deny how soothing the ocean can be, especially just before dawn. He slowly got used to not having to breathe through his lungs, the water he takes in through the gills on his face and tail are all he needs to get through the night. Aimlessly exploring the water, looking for a jewel he knows nothing about, he started to collect pretty shells and rocks, just to keep himself motivated. 

So here he was, working at this same smoothie hut for the second year in a row, making as much money as he could before college starts back up in September. The sun was beating down on the beach, the bright white sand was blinding, it was low tide. 

“Look alive guys, here they come.” 

Isogai called, pulling Nagisa out of his daydream, he could hear Kayano quickening her pace while chopping fruit, the morning rush was starting. Like clockwork, they watched as swarms of people began to crowd the beaches, surfers, swimmers, divers, and anyone who was just looking to work on their tan. They watched in anticipation as people put down their towels and parasols, watching the beachgoers slowly rear their heads towards their establishment, pointing and calling to their friends. It wasn’t long before a line formed in front of them, both Isogai and Nagisa working their hardest to get through the swarm of customers as quickly as possible. 

When you work at the register of a place like this you overhear a lot of gossip, but if there’s one topic that keeps coming back, it’s the Red Devil. Girls will come to the beach just to watch him surf, a red-haired guy with a pitch-black board, setting him apart from the colorful neon boards other surfers used. Not only attractive, but exceptionally skilled, Karma Akabane had worked up quite the reputation on these beaches after nearly winning last year’s surfing contest, despite being a newcomer. 

Nagisa couldn’t deny it, the man was absolutely stunning. Though not as dedicated as the members of Akabane’s fan club, Nagisa still finds his eyes drawn to him as he watches him ride the waves. Every so often the man himself would come and buy a smoothie from their store, and whenever Akabane visited the establishment, a swarm of customers would always follow, mostly fellow surfers and fans. Many would kill just to stand near the guy, yet here Nagisa was, this complete nobody, talking to him. Something about him just made Nagisa feel on edge, like he didn’t have the right to talk to a person like Akabane, even if he was a customer. Having to advertise drinks to a guy who’s practically a celebrity on these beaches, he once again found himself cursing company policy. He had been so mortified taking the guy’s order, since then he'd do anything in his power to make sure he never had to again. Even when it meant treating Kayano to food on the walk home after work. 

Nagisa cursed himself for losing rock-paper-scissors to Kayano earlier that morning, he’d give anything to work in the back right now. There he stood, way too tall, the Red Devil, Karma Akabane. Nagisa took a deep breath, straightened his stupid sun visor, and gave a big company smile. 

“Welcome! May I take your order?”

“Sure, do you have any recommendations?”

“Well, our mango banana smoothies are our most popular item!”

“Oh yeah, that’s right, hey, didn’t you recommend that drink to me last year?”

Nagisa couldn’t tell if it was the sweltering summer heat or this strange situation he found himself in that was making him feel like he was dying. Last year this smoothie was the newest product, and everyone who worked at the register had to recommend it to the customer, along with that stupid sales line. 

“Maybe?”

Nagisa tried, tilting his head, acting as though he wasn’t on the verge of a mental shutdown. 

“Yeah, I remember now! How did that little catchphrase go again?”

Akabane sneered, Nagisa felt like he was a rabbit in a tiger’s den, though the laws of retail forced him to stay in place instead of running away. He tried to pull himself out of it, trying to brush off what happened last year. 

“Well if you enjoyed it last year, why not try it again?”

He smiled, he felt his teeth clasp on top of each other as soon as he finished his sentence, Isogai was working through his line like it was nothing, meanwhile, he’s stuck here being taunted. How pathetic. 

“Ok, ok, I’ll tell you what. If you say the line for me I’ll buy the drink and leave you alone, okay?”

He smirked, Nagisa knew there was no way out now. He couldn’t stand here and throw a fit, the laws of retail wouldn’t allow it, he swallowed his pride and gave the most forced smile he’s given in a while. 

“I-It’ll… mango-make your day…”

Nagisa felt tears welling up in his eyes as he made the smoothie, the surfer laughing at the countertop the entire time. Why me, he thought, while giving him back his change. When the surfer turned around to return to his spot, Isogai gave him a small pat on the back, having seen the entire thing go down. 

Nagisa was stomping his feet and angrily playing a game on his phone his entire lunch break. Tonight he’s going to have to stay up all night looking for that stupid jewel, but he’s already exhausted cause of that stupid Akabane. It’s all just so stupid. 

He slugged through the rest of his day, feeling himself becoming more and more exhausted. In all this heat, he can’t help but look forward to the cool water later tonight. People were starting to talk more and more about the Red Devil, and his prospects for winning the contest this year. The mere mention of him sent a shiver down Nagisa’s spine. 

Evening came, Nagisa made a pit stop at the beach house to grab a bag. Even if he didn’t find the jewel tonight, he could at least collect some pretty shells and rocks. Surprisingly, his fins give off a low glow, making the waters easier to navigate at night. On clear nights, the full moon will illuminate the waters just enough for him to get a proper search done. 

Making his way back to the beach, he saw Akabane again. Nagisa was out of uniform, his hair was loose, he wore a T-shirt and his signature cargo shorts. He and Akabane exchanged looks for a moment, but Akabane didn’t recognize him. Just like that, he turned his attention back to his fans. Nagisa knew he was invisible to most people, especially a celebrity like him. Still, he felt a lump in his chest over the fact that they made eye contact. 

He made his way over to the rocks, watching as the few couples still on the beach watched the sun go down. Placing his towel and keys down in a secluded area, he sat on the rocks by the cliffs, waiting. He watched as the last little piece of the sun disappeared beyond the horizon, it wouldn’t be long now. Sparing the beach behind him one last look, he looked up to the sky, at the moon. He took off his shirt and put it with his things, waiting a little longer. 

The transformation scares him every time. 

He felt a rush over his back, his legs forcing themselves together, a strange tickle at his ears. He gasped in surprise, but the oxygen in his lungs no longer fulfilled their purpose. Using his hands to push himself off of his perch, he dove into the water. 

The cold rush of the sea strongly contrasted the hot surface, he had to let his body get used to the surface. He had to stop himself from gasping at the cold, a bad habit of his he was trying to stop. His lungs were useless now after all.

He started to scan the ocean floor, watching smaller fish and crabs in the sand. He found two pretty shells that caught his eye, as well as a shiny rock. 

Before he knew it, a few hours had passed. He swam back up to the surface, noticing that he was awfully far from the shore. He turned and looked at the moon, estimating that it was probably about 2am. Just a few more hours, he thought. Swimming back to the beach, he knew he’d be checking the shallow waters now, there shouldn’t be any people around. 

He was still a ways off when he noticed a shadow in the water. He turned around to look at its origin, only to see a black surfboard on the surface. 

The Red Devil. 

Nagisa felt a rush of emotions, the shock at being confronted with the guy who had turned his day on its head making him feel anxious. He quickly swam behind a large rock, hoping that he was far enough underwater so Akabane didn’t see the glow. Peeking out behind it, he watched the board on the surface. It almost looked like he was flying above him, a soaring star, one that Nagisa could never touch.

He saw two large waves approaching, watching as he easily cleared the first one. Perhaps he hadn’t seen the second wave, as he watched the board flip, and the surfer in question fall into the water. Nagisa almost laughed at the wipe-out, feeling as though this is what he had coming for bugging him earlier today. 

The feeling of joy he had at Akabane’s misfortune stopped when he noticed that the surfer wasn’t swimming back to the surface. Actually, he was sinking. He’s sinking. Nagisa felt a wave of panic hit him at that realization, a fear of being caught mixing with the feeling of guilt that he had been laughing at him before. 

He carefully swam up to him, seeing half-shut eyes and air bubbling out of his mouth. Air. He needs air, Nagisa thought, panicking. 

To this day, Nagisa doesn’t know what possessed him that night. He had never thought of himself as the heroic type, usually only barely being able to watch out for himself. However, seeing Akabane, a man who’s stupid cheesy smirk brings joy to all those around him, seeing that person’s life ebb away, was enough for Nagisa to decide his course of action. Grabbing his face, pulling their faces closer together, he hesitated. 

He wasn’t worthy of such a thing. To be someone’s savior. He shook his head quickly, he knew now wasn’t the time. There’s no one on the beach watching Akabane, and even if there was, they couldn’t save him now. It had to be Nagisa. 

Pressing his lips over Akabane’s own, he emptied that useless air in his lungs, hoping that it would find its use in someone else. Pulling away, watching as some of the air bubbled right out of his nose. 

Shit, that’s right! CPR doesn’t work like that!

Mustering whatever strength he had, he swam underneath him, kicking his tail as hard as he could, propelling him towards the surface. Akabane was attached to his board via a leash, Nagisa was trying his hardest to drag him towards it. He pushed him onto his board, trying to use his tail to keep the board in place. 

He placed him down on his back, trying his hardest to remember his freshman CPR training he had done. He lifted his chin up, placing his ear to the other one's mouth, listening for breathing. He heard nothing. 

Using his tail to try and propel as much of his body as possible out of the water, he pinched the bridge of his nose and filled his lungs with air. Pressing his lips onto Akabane’s as he had done earlier, he emptied his lungs again. The surfer’s chest barely rose, so Nagisa tried twice more. 

He felt himself become hopeless, were his lungs just too small in comparison? He was about to go in for the fourth time when Akabane shot up straight, coughing with all his might. Nagisa watched as he opened his eyes, bashing his fist onto his chest, hoarse. He had admired for too long, Karma looked over at him. 

Just like the evening before, the eye contact lasted for but a fraction of a second. Nagisa had overstayed his welcome, realizing when the redhead sharply gasped. He dove back underwater, his glowing fins leaving a trail of soft light behind him. 

Karma had gasped so sharply that he started coughing again. Part of him wanted to dive into the water after his savior, but the water stuck in his lungs suggested otherwise. He watched the glowing light disappear under the full moon, leaving him confused, but safe. 

He paddled back to the surface trying to ration out his thoughts. He remembers being struck by a large wave, hitting his head on his board. He was submerged in the water for a while, he blacked out as he felt something touch his face. When he came to, he was back on his board, and something not quite human was in the water.

It was a full moon, but it was still dark. The creature had long blue hair, with curious blue eyes to match. There were strange stripes on his face, gills maybe? Instead of ears, there were glowing fins on each side of his head, and there were scales all over his body. 

It was once he stood on the sand with his board in hand that he realized what he’d seen. 

A merman. 

A real, live, merman. 

Karma felt overcome by this revelation, trying desperately to talk himself down as he grabbed his shoes and towel from the shore. 

He spared the ocean one last glance, taking one the full picture with the full moon in the sky one more time. 

Even if he told someone, would anyone believe him?


	2. Evasion, Psychedelics, and an Ultimatum

Nagisa spent the rest of the night on the ocean floor, lying on his back and looking up at the surface. Even if there was something worth seeing in this area, he didn’t have the energy to look for it. 

He felt so foolish. He risked everything just to save some pretty surfer boy, and now his whole life is just about compromised. He’ll never be able to find that stupid jewel like this, the loudmouth Akabane will probably tell all of his stupid surfer friends. 

Nagisa was so preoccupied with worry that he barely noticed that the sun was starting to come back up. Watching the ocean floor become lighter and lighter, he frantically started swimming back to the shore, trying to make it before he turned back into a human. He made it back to the cliff, where his stuff still sat safely between the rocks. He looked down at his satchel, all the shells and rocks he found were still intact. He saw the sky slowly become lighter and lighter, he loved this part the most about being a merman: dawn.

So transfixed on the pretty lights, he didn’t realize that he had legs again, suddenly he needed to gasp for air. He groaned, pulling himself up to the rocks and drying himself with his towel. He had an afternoon shift at the shop, but he just didn’t want to go home. He probably wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink even if he did. Putting his shirt back on and putting his keys in his bag, he trotted to the shack, where Isogai was unlocking the doors, yawning. 

“Isogai!”

He called, only to watch the dark-haired boy jolt in his direction, only to slump his shoulders upon realizing who he was looking at. 

“Oh it’s… it’s just you.”

Nagisa couldn’t tell if Isogai was relieved or saddened by that revelation, watching him quickly fumble his keys to try and get into their establishment.

“Were you expecting someone?”

Isogai seemed to flinch at Nagisa’s inquiry, flipping on the AC and avoiding eye contact. He gave a small huff, giving up on hiding it.

“No, not really, it’s just the only person who’d show up around this hour is Maehara, that’s all.”

Nagisa put his things down on the table, lost in thought. Maehara is one of the only other surfers that hangs around Akabane, the other surfers find him difficult to approach. Most say that Maehara is just too stupid to see the red flags around Akabane, or he just doesn’t care. So Isogai and Maehara are friends too then, he thought, letting his eyes dwell over the room, resting on the clock. It’s 7am. 

“Why on Earth would he be here so early?”

“Something about extra training I think? A lot of the surfers show up early in the morning to get practice in before the beach gets too busy.”

Training… Nagisa felt a question at his lips, wondering if it would arouse any suspicion. Isogai seemed kind of absent, so Nagisa decided to ask as casually as he could.

“Do you think that they ever train at night? When there’s no one around?”

Isogai huffed at the question a bit, wiping down the display. 

“In the dark? That’s way too dangerous, no one can keep an eye on you if you go under. Not even Mae—“

He cut himself off, catching Nagisa’s attention as he cleared his throat.

“... I mean, not even an idiot would do that.”

Nagisa brought his attention back to his bag, wondering about the night before. They say that Akabane is a genius surfer, so why was that fool out there in the middle of the night? Why did he have to save him? What’s going to happen now that he has saved him? Hell, what would’ve happened if he hadn’t saved him?

Too lost in thought to notice that Isogai was profusely blushing over the register, trying desperately to keep his cool. He quickly shook his head to try and snap out of it, turning to look at his coworker.

“All that surfer talk aside, Nagisa, what are you doing here? Were you out swimming?”

Nagisa felt painfully obvious with his soaking wet hair and swim trunks, feeling a bit obvious now in front of his colleague. Still, he needed a distraction.

“Can I work? Like now?”

“Now? I thought you had an afternoon shift today?”

“I know but I just… I need some kind of distraction right now and we were so busy yesterday morning too.”

“I suppose so, but have you messaged Kayano? She should know that she can take her time.”

“I think it’s too late for that.”

Both of them were surprised by the tiny girl standing by the doorway, her dyed green hair in a messy bun on top of her head. She practically had the words ‘sleep deprivation’ written on her face, Nagisa felt his own exhaustion from his all-nighter hit him when he saw her. 

“I’m so sorry.”

The two said in unison, bowing their heads at her. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine. We’re all here now anyways.”

She huffed, waving her hand and dismissing her coworkers. Isogai started to raise the shutters to the front when a certain surfer was standing there in front of him, leaning on the wall. 

“Hey Isogai!”

Isogai jolted backwards at the sudden greeting, Maehara beaming at him so early in the morning was the last thing he needed. 

“Jesus—“ 

“Swear!”

His two shorter colleagues stopped their idle chit chat to catch their employee of the month red handed, Isogai cursing the two for being so diligent, only for Maehara to snicker at him. He was wearing his wetsuit and had his board under his arm, but he was still dry, so he hadn’t been in the water yet. 

“Good morning guys!”

Maehara waved, the two waving back with a smile. Kayano and Nagisa kept talking, giving Isogai some alone time with the blonde. 

“So, you have any tester smoothies ready yet?”

He tilted his head, making Isogai playfully roll his eyes.

“No we don’t, sorry! However, isn’t that probably for the best? You look like you’re about to go in?”

He pointed at his wetsuit, causing Maehara himself to realize his own situation.

“Oh! I guess you’re right, haha! You’re better at looking out for me than I am!” 

He awkwardly laughed, rubbing the back of his head, Kayano and Nagisa sharing a worried expression at his carelessness, while Isogai merely giggled along with him. 

“I’ll tell you what, just tell me what time you’ll be done and I’ll have your usual ready for you, ‘Kay?”

“‘Kay! I’ll be there at 11!”

Maehara beamed, running off towards the water, Isogai still awkwardly giggling, while waving. He only stopped waving once Maehara was practically a speck on the horizon, awkwardly turning towards his friends who had just watched the entire thing go down. Kayano started giggling in her hands while Nagisa let out a huff. 

“I guess we’re all hopeless singles then, aren’t we.” 

Kayano spun on her heel towards the two, gasping dramatically.

“Don’t group me in with you schmucks!”

She puffed her cheeks, making the two slump their shoulders.

“Yeah, yeah, you have a crush on a pretty girl back home, we know.”

“Heh, not anymore!” 

She smugly said, holding out her hand to show a small ring on her pinky finger. 

“You and Okuda are getting MARRIED!?”

Nagisa yelled, while Isogai happily clapped his hands to congratulate her. 

“We are not getting married, it's a promise ring!! I mean, we aren’t getting married yet or anything, haha, getting married… haha” 

She started blushing profusely, awkwardly giggling while lost in thought, twiddling her thumbs. Isogai sighed, looking up at the clock only to see that they were due to open the shop soon. 

“Guys, we need to get to work, fast!” 

He called, drawing their attention. They scattered around the establishment, Nagisa quickly sitting down to cut fruit as Kayano started to frantically broom the floor. 

“Good thing all three of us are here then, huh.”

Nagisa commented, causing both of his coworkers to groan in response. Nagisa was able to keep his place cutting fruit in the back for the rest of the day, Kayano responding that he wasn’t representable in his current state. He didn’t argue, borrowing one of her hair ties to chop fruit in the back while she took the other register. 

11pm came, Maehara and Akabane both made their way towards the smoothie stall. Akabane was lost in thought as Maehara waved towards the cashier, Isogai waving the drink above him. 

“Maehara, have you ever seen anything strange in these waters?”

He asked, staring down at the sand as they walked, his board under his arm.

“Oh yeah, totally. I was paddling once and I saw a bikini top—“ 

“No! Not like that! I meant like a strange creature or something.”

“Creature? It’s not like you to ask something like this man, you see something weird?”

They were about to approach the smoothie bar when Akabane decided to tell. Most people had set a few steps aside when they saw them coming, the redhead leaned into his friend's ear. 

“I think I saw a mermaid last night.”

Isogai felt a rush go down his spine at the sight of them so close together, Kayano lightly cringing at the sight of it, but they both brushed it off. Maehara gave his reply as they stopped at the display, realizing what had transpired. 

“A MERMAID? BRO YOU DID PSYCHEDELICS WITHOUT ME?” 

Nagisa nearly had a heart attack when he heard that, jolting upright and nearly cutting himself with his knife. Akabane is telling people about what he saw? You can’t be serious. He had never been happier to have been huddled behind the ice machine cutting fruit, tucked away where he couldn’t be seen.

“Mermaids?”

Kayano mocked, hunched over the counter with her chin resting in her hand. Akabane snapped his head over to her, an embarrassed look on his face. Isogai handed Maehara his drink, looking over at the redhead.

“You think you saw a mermaid? What did its tail look like?”

“Well, I didn’t really see its tail…”

“When did you see it?”

Kayano started asking too, driving Akabane into a corner. Three curious pairs of eyes rested on him, making him feel like a fool. So uncool. Not to mention that he didn’t want people knowing that he was out surfing at such a late hour. Sure he knew it was dangerous, but it’s still calming in its own way. Or at least it was calming until he nearly drowned and had to be saved by some strange creature. 

“J-Just… while I was out surfing…”

“You’ve seen how busy these beaches are, are you sure it wasn’t just a diver?”

Maehara asked, sipping at his drink. Kayano turned to grab a rag to clean the counter with, only to see Nagisa nervously cutting fruit. In his head, he was nervously cheering on certain people in the conversation, hoping they’d change the subject. 

Karma merely stood and mused for a moment, finally deciding that he probably ought to keep his mouth shut to prevent seeming like an idiot. At the same time, a part of him wanted that mysterious merman to be his own little secret.

“I probably saw something wrong then…”

He knew what he saw. He knew it was a merman, he remembers the gills and fins. It wasn’t just a diver. However, part of him hopes to see him again, just to know for sure that it wasn’t a dream. 

“Isn’t there a type of diving suit that resembles a mermaid fin? Maybe you just saw one of those?”

Kayano wondered, prompting the others to nod along. Karma became more and more embarrassed at his assertions from earlier, feeling like the group was maliciously tearing him apart. Both he and Nagisa wished for the subject to be changed. 

“While you were out surfing… I’m surprised you were able to see such a thing under the surface while surfing though!! I would imagine you two must be concentrating hard while training for the competition!!” Isogai hummed.

The competition. 

Next week, the surfing competition will be held, with the Red Devil as a favorite to win. Last year he was still new to this beach and competition, but he still managed to come in second, right behind a local surfing pro. That surfer has since moved onto bigger things, leaving this small beach behind. He’s the favorite to win, but with the growing popularity of this beach and contest, he mustn’t get too cocky. 

He sipped his smoothie lost in thought as he and Maehara left the shop. He had been surfing at night in order to simulate the ‘worst conditions’ for surfing, but he wiped out and nearly killed himself last night. That merman must’ve laughed at me before rescuing me, he thought, not knowing that he was very much correct. 

Akabane decided his course of action right then and there. 

He’s going to win that stupid contest, and prove to everyone and that stupid pretty boy mermaid once and for all that he can, in fact, surf. That’ll show them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG OOHHHH MY GOD BUT IM STILL GONNA CONTINUE THIS I PROMISE IVE JUST BEEN HAVING WRITERSBLOCK SORRY
> 
> Also sorry to everyone who waited this long for more of a filler chapter but please understand that if I didn’t split this chapter and the next one things would move WAY too fast


End file.
